


Follow Me to the End

by Skellington101



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Banter, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mind Control, Original Character(s), Recovered Memories, Season of Opulence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 20:02:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19302847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skellington101/pseuds/Skellington101
Summary: "Earth has no Shadow. Not Yet.""This Chalice is my gift to you. It is a symbol of power for a Shadow of Calus. My Shadows are a chosen people, selected from the best of the best from each world I've encountered.""Restore the Chalice so that you may fill it to the very brim with the viscera of your enemies. And do not forget to drink your fill. Do not forget.""Power seeks power, and memories hold the well of Strength. Do you remember, O Champion Mine? Are you strong, O Champion Mine?"





	Follow Me to the End

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, boi, I wanted to post about my characters for so long. I heard a lotta chatter about the 'O Champion Mine' dialogue that Calus says, so I decided to take my own creative liberties with it. I wanna post so much more about them, it's exciting! Ask any questions in the comments and more info about my characters is at the end of the fic.

 

_“O Champion Mine.”_

 

_“O Champion Mine.”_

 

_“O Champion Mine.”_

 

A seductive whisper in her ears. Power with every rasp, every word a delicate promise waiting for loyalty. A voice rumbling like thunder, a promise in silken smooth undertones. **_Power_**.

 

It resonates with her soul, one of undying desires and wants. It _burns_ in the wires of her mechanical body. She _craves **it**_ **.**

 

Fueling a relentless addiction? Or seeking a missing piece of her soul?

 

Power.

 

 _Power_.

 

 **_Power_**.

 

“ _You belong to_ **_me_** _, O Champion_ **_Mine_** _.”_

 

 _“I am_ **_yours_** _."_

 

* * *

 

“Why do you want to go the Emperor Calus’ barge?” Crow squinted at her.

 

They were in Crow’s workstation three levels beneath the Tower. The walls were barren steel, with wooden workbenches surrounding them. Various objects littered the surface of the workbench in front of Charm. She could see--was that a Gate Lord’s eye?--a small sphere of Void energy resting next to the helm of a Fallen Captain, small bits of Hive (some with living parts, _eugh_ ), and something with a greenish glint underneath a worn cloth. Trust Crow to be the only warlock alive to have this vast of a collection, and yet not care in any capacity, human and all.

 

Charm shrugged. “What? Can’t say I’m not interested. This Calus guy seems like a head honcho of the Cabal, and he has  _everything_ made of gold. If you need backup on this mission, why not me? I’m the _best_ backup you could ever get.” She fiddled with her gloves, pulling at a loosening thread.

 

Crow snorted, glancing up at her through navy blue curls. “I’m sure I could find someone else.” Ignoring Charm’s indignant, “hey!” they walked over to snatch up a miraculously found gauntlet underneath a pile of Vex arms. “This is an important mission. We don’t know what he wants and he could have something else planned for the guardians.” Lugging a bag over their shoulder, Crow huffed and set out for the docking bay.

 

“Right,” Charm scoffed lightly, metaphorically rolling her magenta eyes. “Like any guardians know what they’re doing when they get into trouble.” She laughed nervously, but they didn’t seem to notice. What would  _she_ do?

 

* * *

 

“To your right!” Crow shouted, and Charm caught a glimpse of their olive skin tone in her peripheral. They blinked over to a psion and used their sidearm to gun it down. The cabal in front yelled gutturally, but it was cut short as Charm slammed her knife into its throat. The battle high ran through Charm even as the battle died down, the bodies of the cabal littered around them.

 

She groaned. “How many pieces do we have now?” She ran a hand over her violet faceplates and wiped off a layer of cabal oil off her face. Disgusting.

 

The frame, whats-its-name-something-number, told them to collect the broken pieces and repair the Chalice. The frame had been possessed--was that even the right word for what Emperor Calus does?--by Calus and purple energy sparked and swirled where the frame’s core was. The voice that emitted from it was deep and boisterous, an arrogant edge to it that Charm thought was familiar. The tone grappled at her memories, which remained painfully stuck in an unreachable trench in her mind. And the invitation...

 

She never told the others about it. A letter sealed with red wax, telling her to come before the others. Before she had gone on the mission with Crow, there was another frame, Benedict. She probably should’ve told the Vanguard about that one. But, for some reason, she felt a more compelling urge to get here instead. Like something was pulling her there.

 

Crow dug into another cabal’s armor, making a small noise of triumph when they found a broken piece. “This is the last one, now we should be able to put it together. Though we should wait for the other guardians to get here.”

 

Charm let Ares transmat the broken Chalice into her hand, the ornate and gaudy goblet humming with a captivating power. She handed it over to Crow with a small wink. “You can put it together while we wait, then. For _now_ , I’ll be looting some chests nearby.” She laughed when Crow tried to call her back with a disgruntled shout.

 

* * *

 

Fuck Calus’ Hive infested ship. The Hive were _everywhere_ , in every little crevice of their part of the ship. Witch rituals and void crystals, all in a dizzying form of several puzzles that they had to get right. It all felt...off.

 

Before they ended up on this damned ship, the other guardians had shown in their respective groups. Grim-17 had been shipped in from wherever he had disappeared off to before the Crimson Days, making a dramatic entrance by crushing Minotaur with a Nova Bomb and waving a friendly hello. They had made it as far as finding the cave of cabal deserters when Syven and his fireteam had shown up. Easy peasy, after that.

  
But then, Calus had reached out. Hive had infested the Menagerie, now Calus wanted it dealt with. So, they were sent down to the bowels of his ship as pest control. A compelling urge to go, _find_ , had been at the back of Charm’s mind for the entirety of their time there.

 

The first part was easy enough if hard to time. They were granted the Witch’s blessing, shot the crystals, killed the ogres, blah, _blah,_ **_blah_**. She never wanted to see another Thrall again. Ever. The blessing felt odd, like a humming, slimy Light coated her from head to toe.

 

Jumping the platforms was only easy since they figured it out the hard way first when all six had stayed on the same platform with no sense of teamwork. Being paired with Crow was a miracle in itself, working with someone who knew her better than she knew herself (literally). She could feel the energy of the Hive buzzing, flitting around her. It saturated the air itself, littered the ornate ~~familiar~~ halls of the Kingdom. ~~She's been down here before, hasn't she?~~

  
They walked into the Kingdom of Sorrow. And, chaos. A fleeting thought buzzed in her mind, one last before Gahlran roared and separated them.

 

 _So, this is what **power does**_ _._

 

She doesn’t remember much of the fight, only flashes.

 

~~_"Do you remember, my Shadow?"_ ~~

 

~~_"You are but the Shadow of Earth."_ ~~

 

**~~_M Y  S H A D O W._ ~~ **

* * *

 

Her hand rests upon the Crown.

 

She can feel it through the circuits in her hands.

 

Screams, cries, yells, voices of millions. The ~~FEAR~~ Power runs deep within the artifact. Vivid lines of a pulsing, vibrant green that mesmerize her, enthrall her until she stands less than an inch away. Her hand runs along the side, tracing the runes. This could be hers.

 

No one else should have _it._

 

She _wants_ ~~ _needs_~~ **_IT._**

 

“-arm! Charm!” A hand on her right shoulder snaps her back to reality and she swivels around to meet Crow’s worried hazel eyes. “You alright?”

 

“N-...Yeah, yeah, I’m all good. Ready to go if _you_ are!” Charm winks at Crow and bolts off to the others before they can respond, not turning back to see their expression. Everything’s a-okay. Nothing is happening.

 

At the artifact, Crow stares at the retreating back of Charm.

 

Their Hunter had been more than a little off during their raid. Zoning out, getting angry, screaming, freezing in the middle of the enemy. Near the end, the light of her eyes had flickered, only slightly, but nothing else.

 

Worry twists tightly in their chest with the icy cold touch of dread. This whole place feels wrong and it settles on Crow’s bones heavily. They say nothing.

 

The Crown of Sorrows lays dormant.

 

It **_awaits_**.

 

* * *

 

_“Would you cast my Shadow of the Earth-born once more, O Champion Mine?”_

 

_“I would cast your Shadow, Emperor Calus, and grow fat from your Opulence.”_

 

**_P O W E R._ **

 

**Author's Note:**

> Charm-12: She's an older Exo Hunter who had reset at the start of the Red War, but (and this is just a fun spin I put on the Shadows thing that Calus says) a long time back (like 400 years), Charm was picked to be one of Emperor Calus' Shadows during the Dark Age of humanity. After a couple of resets, she forgot she was one of Calus' Shadows and was back on Earth when she went to the Last City. 
> 
> Crow: They are a non-binary Human Warlock that is one of Ikora's Hidden. They go on scouting missions for Ikora and was friends with Charm for a long time until she reset again and had to start over. Hence the "they know me better than she knows herself" line.
> 
> Again, I like to take my own creative liberties and with the Destiny universe, the way I like to write "the chosen one" shebang is that I co-write some stuff with my partner, so her main character is the main of D2, and mine is the main of D1. Our characters switch out during certain missions as to include more of the multiplayer aspect into the chosen one trope that Bungie has going on. It's a whole thing, I might post on my tumblr and ramble more about it. 
> 
> Okie, byeeee!


End file.
